Toddler Milestone Checklist — 18 Months, 2 Years & 3 Years | Daisy Days Regina SK

Understanding what your toddler should be able to do at each stage of their development helps parents know when things are on track — and when to ask questions. At Daisy Days Daycare in Regina SK, our ECE educators observe toddler development daily across the 18-month to 3-year range. Here’s a practical, age-by-age milestone guide.

18-Month Milestones — What to Expect

Language and Communication

• 10-20+ words (some 18-month-olds have 50+, variation is wide)
• Points to make requests and share attention (“Look at that dog!”)
• Understands and responds to simple 1-step instructions (“Get your shoes”)
• Imitates words heard in conversation
• Babbles with varied intonation suggesting conversational awareness

Motor Development

• Walking well independently, beginning to run
• Climbing onto furniture and low structures
• Using a spoon (messily but intentionally)
• Turning pages of a board book
• Building a tower of 2-4 blocks

Social and Emotional

• Shows affection to familiar people (hugs, kisses)
• Shows separation distress with unfamiliar situations — this is healthy
• Shows interest in other children (watching, moving toward them)
• Beginning to show pretend play (feeding a doll, “talking” on a toy phone)

2-Year Milestones — What to Expect

Language and Communication

• 50+ words (many 2-year-olds have 100-300+ words)
• 2-word phrases — “more milk,” “daddy go,” “big dog,” “no sleep”
• Understood by familiar family members at least 50% of the time
• Follows 2-step instructions: “Go get your shoes and put them by the door”
• Asks simple questions: “What’s that?” “Where doggie?”

Motor Development

• Running confidently (though still tumbles sometimes)
• Kicking and throwing a ball
• Climbing stairs with support (one step at a time)
• Stacking 6+ blocks
• Beginning to use a fork
• Showing hand dominance (preference for right or left)

Social and Emotional

• Parallel play (playing near peers but not yet cooperatively)
• Imitation of adult and peer behaviour
• Growing independence: “Me do it!”
• Tantrums are developmentally normal at this age — see also our toddler behaviour guide

3-Year Milestones — What to Expect

Language and Communication

• 300+ words — vocabulary explosion is typical
• 3-4 word sentences: “I want more cookies please”
• Understood by unfamiliar adults at least 75% of the time
• Follows 3-step instructions
• Tells simple stories; asks many questions including “why?”
• Uses pronouns: “I,” “you,” “me,” “we”

Motor Development

• Pedaling a tricycle
• Climbing stairs alternating feet with railing
• Drawing a circle
• Holding a pencil/crayon with a tripod grip (emerging)
• Dressing with some assistance (pulling pants up, putting on loose shirts)

Social and Emotional

• Beginning cooperative play — playing with rather than just near peers
• Friendships beginning to form with specific peer preferences
• Imaginative and dramatic play is rich and sustained
• Emotions are intense but regulation is gradually improving
• Toilet training typically completing or complete by 3

When to Ask Your Pediatrician or Daycare Educator

Always discuss with your pediatrician — and Daisy Days Daycare’s educators — if your child:

• Shows significant delay (more than 25% behind these typical ranges)
• Has LOST any skill they previously had — regression is always worth investigating
• Shows no interest in other people or children by 24 months
• Has less than 50 words by 24 months
• Has no 2-word combinations by 24 months

→ Language development and speech delays at daycare
→ Full child development milestones guide
→ Toddler program at Daisy Days Daycare

Contact Daisy Days Daycare’s educators to discuss your toddler’s development.
306-807-3233 | info@daisydaysdaycare.com | 2007 Potts Crescent East, Regina SK S4V 2E5